Why the EU needs a strong Media Freedom Act

The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) aims to combat media capture and the decline of quality information by harmonising media rules across the EU internal market. Key provisions include mandatory transparency regarding media ownership and state advertising allocation, protections for journalists against spyware, and a 'media exemption' to protect news content from unilateral takedowns by social media platforms. However, the author contends the Act is limited by 'legally unenforceable expectations' that may be ignored by governments in countries like Hungary, Greece, and Italy. Furthermore, the document criticises the EMFA for failing to provide direct subsidies to make quality news economically sustainable and notes concerns over Council-level exceptions for national security surveillance of journalists.

• The EMFA seeks to address media capture by requiring transparency in media ownership, financing, and the allocation of state advertising to prevent governments from rewarding outlets that provide favourable coverage.
• The proposed 'media exemption' would protect news media content from being unilaterally removed by online platforms like Facebook or Twitter, unless the content is explicitly illegal, to reduce the power imbalance between news outlets and social media algorithms.
• The Act introduces several structural safeguards, including a media plurality test for company mergers, the creation of a European Board for Media Services to coordinate regulatory authorities, and protections for editorial independence from both political groups and publishers.
• Critics argue the EMFA is too weak to be effective in member states with illiberal governments or compromised judiciaries, such as Hungary, Greece, and Italy, describing some provisions as 'principled but legally unenforceable expectations'.
• The document identifies a critical gap in the EMFA: it fails to provide the direct financial subsidies necessary to make quality news economically sustainable and reduce dependencies on covert funding.
• There is significant tension regarding the use of spyware against journalists; while the EMFA intends to increase protections, the EU Council has embraced a French proposal to allow exceptions for national security.

APA

Bleyer-Simon, K. (2023). Why the EU needs a strong Media Freedom Act. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/why-the-eu-needs-a-strong-media-freedom-act/

Chicago

Bleyer-Simon, Konrad. Why the EU needs a strong Media Freedom Act. Green European Journal, 2023. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/why-the-eu-needs-a-strong-media-freedom-act/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bleyer-Simon |first1=Konrad |title=Why the EU needs a strong Media Freedom Act |publisher=Green European Journal |date=26 July 2023 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/why-the-eu-needs-a-strong-media-freedom-act/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bleyersimon2023why, author = {Bleyer-Simon, Konrad}, title = {{Why the EU needs a strong Media Freedom Act}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/why-the-eu-needs-a-strong-media-freedom-act/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }